Prime Minister announces Indian data centre to be established in Marsa

Data centre of major Indian company to be located in underground tunnel of former Marsa power station, will bring millions of euro in investment, create jobs, Prime Minister says

An Indian data centre is to be located in a tunnel of the old Marsa power station, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced today
An Indian data centre is to be located in a tunnel of the old Marsa power station, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced today

A major Indian company’s data centre is to be located in Marsa, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has announced, bringing with it millions of euro in investment, and creating more jobs.

Speaking at the Labour Party club in Marsa this morning, Muscat told supporters that the data centre would be built in a tunnel which was part of the old Marsa power station.

This would be a “clean investment”, Muscat said, as opposed to previous investments in the south which used to be associated with pollution.

“The greatest cost data centres face is air conditioning to keep the large computers they house cool,” he said, “But [in the power station tunnel] there is a natural system of cooling as a result of the low temperature underground.”

Issues caused by influx of immigrants need to be solved by enforcing the law

Muscat also spoke of the pressure Marsa was under due to the influx of people to Malta.

“We cannot escape the reality that when foreigners come to our country, tensions are sometimes created. Some people might be afraid to go out on the streets, and may feel that some places have become no-go areas. But we cannot let this sentiment to be taken advantage of by people in the far-right, whose intention it is to promote racist elements,” he said.

“I am informed daily on what is going on in Marsa, and I am told when enforcement is working and when it isn’t. I understand the situation, and I know that those who are worried about this situation are not racists,” he underscored, remarking that Marsa’s residents had probably noticed that enforcement had increased in the last few weeks.

“Any forms of abuse needs to be acted upon, and it doesn’t matter who is behind it - a Maltese person or a foreigner,” he said, stressing that any problems had to be dealt with by applying the law and making sure the rules were respected, and not by harbouring racist feelings.

“I am talking about issues which people may be uncomfortable with, because this is a government which does not sweep problems under the carpet. We do not want to leave a time-bomb for our children because we have left them with an unsustainable social situation,” he stressed, appealing to residents of places such as Marsa, Birzebbugia, Qawra and Buggiba not to give in to racist views.

Descendants of Maltese-Australians now want to come to Malta to work

Remarking regarding his recent visit to Australia, Muscat said that on a similar trip he had been on around a decade ago, he had met Maltese migrants in Australia who told him that they had left Malta because they could not find work.

“But during this visit, I met those same people, and they brought their children and grandchildren with them, and these young people told us they would like to come to Malta to work,” he said, “This is the way things have turned around. The nephews and nieces of those who left Malta, because there were no work opportunities, now want to come to Malta because there are now jobs available.”

Turning to sport, he said Malta had to “start winning” even when it came to this area. “We need to identify how to better our sport culture,” he said.

“Waterpolo can serve as a benchmark. We need a national programme to set out how to make improvements in the area of sport, and to find the [athletic] potential in our young people and train them accordingly,” he said, highlighting that the money from the surplus could also be used to increase national pride in this area.

Nothing as important as decreasing poverty

The government had created a “new middle class”, Muscat said, which it had managed to do through the lowering of utility bills, the increase in salaries, the minimum wage and pensions, and the large increase in the number of jobs available.

“Our job is to ensure the wealth we now have is made available to as many people as possible,” he said, “News about the surplus, economic growth and the more jobs is positive. But nothing compares to the good news that we are lowering the level of poverty,” he emphasised.

“Those who think the country has already reached its full potential have not yet realised all that Malta is able to achieve,” he said.

Turning to unemployment, he maintained that a substantial portion of the 2,000 people who were not in employment in Malta were “unemployable”, because of their circumstances, involving factors such as addiction. There were also people who were working but registering as unemployed, he said, adding that his visit to Australia was for the purpose of attracting even more jobs to the island.